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Now that Kanon (2006) has finished airing, it might be a good time for a second Favourite Characters Poll! Same choices as the first poll so let's see if opinion has changed over the course of the series.

Spoiler for the results of the first poll.:

The new poll is multiple choice and while we won’t restrict you from voting for every character, please try to limit your choice to your top 3 or 4 picks if you can. If you like the entire cast equally, then so be it, but if you can narrow it down a bit, then that’s even better. If you like one character the most, then don’t feel the need to vote for anymore.

Please remember that once you make your vote you may not "come back" later to add or change your previous vote(s). So make sure you know all the characters you want to include in your vote before you click the "Vote Now" button.

And of course the vote is public, so your votes will be visible to all.

Thread Rules

No campaigning for votes.
Any post with "Vote for…/Do not vote for..." verbiage will be deleted. Discuss why you do or don’t like characters without campaigning for votes.

Do not insult or harass other members for their choices.
Please remember: this is for fun. Do not take it so seriously that you end up in an argument with another forum member because they express a fondness for a character you loathe. Discussion and good spirited banter is always welcome, but harassing people won’t be tolerated.

Have fun, but post intelligently.
It’s great to have fun, but please try your best to add substance to what you post and make your thoughts interesting for the generation of fans that will follow after you’re long gone and on to watching some other series.

I decided to go for a more serious approach to this poll than the previous one. In the previous poll, I had voted for five characters( one more than my usual limit of four). This time though, I narrowed it down to only three, plus one bonus.

Previously:

Ayu

Mai

Makoto

Sayuri

Yuuichi

Presently:

Mai

Sayuri

Yuuichi
+

Piro

~~~~ ~~~~

Ayu was initially charming to me, and I was looking forward to see her arc unfold as the episodes progressed. As time went by however, occasional awkward pacing and forced plot-progression left me a little disappointed. It kind of diminished her charm, as it made her out to be some sort of "villain" who imposed her rule over the other girls as opposed to being the well-deserved "chosen one".

Note that I mean this in a storytelling kind of way, and not what actually unfolds in the series.

Ergo, the fault of the storyboarders for not making her arc unfold naturally, choosing instead to attach rocket boosters to the plot-train galaxy express. It is simply bewildering to watch it happen, and made Ayu's character that much harder to sympathise with in the end.
~~~~ ~~~~

Makoto's main charm for me was that she was so damn tragic. No matter what she did, there was no way she could stay with Yuuichi as her miracle required a great sacrifice from her. This... aspect of her more or less remained the same in this adaptation, but KyoAni kept dropping hints that Makoto was well and alive; diluting this portion of her charm.

Furthermore, Makoto more or less disappeared since Ep10, with a short return in Ep22. This hurt her memorability a lot, I regret to say. It also did not help that they really dragged the pacing for Makoto's final episodes, which greatly affected her likeability in my opinion. I am simply not a fan of beastly "Auu~"s, pitiful or not.

If I could lump the real Sawatari Makoto(SMakoto) with Kitsune Makoto(KMakoto) however, then I would have voted for the Makoto option. SMakoto's appearance in Ep23 was a stroke of genius on KyoAni's part as it not only provided a suitable mentor for Yuuichi, it also expanded on the KMakoto element naturally.
~~~~ ~~~~

No comments on Yuuichi, Mai and Sayuri. I reserve those thoughts for the Overall Impression thread.
~~~~ ~~~~

Piro is my bonus choice because he is just so damn adorable. I get a warm fuzzy feeling everytime he is shown onscreen, and his antics are simply to coo for. The only character that made me want to squeal like an overexcited fangirl, and want to hug him, and squeeze him, and cuddle him, and call him Snuggles.

Perhaps I have a weakness for characters that hide their pain behind a strong outside face.

Despite some of my favorite scenes revolving around her, Ayu didn't make the list. I just liked the other characters that much more, I suppose, and the "brief romance" in the story, despite not portraying their relationship as having romantic potential (especially compared to other girls), left a bad taste in my mouth. I love Ayu, but she didn't make the list.

Nayuki, Mai, Kaori, Sayuri.
Yes, it's funny how they're in a certain order.
As bonus, I had to pick Piro too, just like in the poll before.

The reason I didn't vote for Makoto again is that simply, her arc didn't touch me as much as the others.
I did bawl way back while watching episode 10, yes. But it's one thing to hit the ultimate crying spot through utter, well, tragedy.
It's another thing to get me all emotional, making me think about the story and the characters involved in it over and over again. If it just doesn't get out of my head.

Ayu's arc almost left me cold (yes, cold as snow ).
The sympathy, in this case, went mostly to Yuuichi; as he was the one left, alone, without Ayu (say awake).
The tragedy, as it was handled and portrayed in the series, just couldn't compare to the other arcs. To any of the other arcs, I dare say. So, maybe it's not uguu's fault really.

Now, to not forget to explain why I voted the characters I actually voted...

Nayuki is, for me, easily the favourite character of Kanon.
She hit that little spot, my moe spot. And she did with force. Unyuu~
Her arc, if you can call it that, made me the most depressed of all. The others all talked of miracles, miracles - but the kind of miracle that anyone would want to happen, and that's different in Nayuki's case. She'd need a miracle to get Yuuichis affection (family kind affection doesn't count), indeed; but who would support that miracle? Right, probably not even she herself..

Mai, together with Sayuri, the two senpai. Everyone loves them, ahaha.
Swordsgirl showed off her skills good. She's the first girl Shouta Yuuichi met, that makes her special in some way already.
Her deep friendship (yes, I like the idea of yuri, but I mustn't let my inner fangirl take over in this case) with Sayuri added to her likeability. Sayuri no koto suki. Daisuki dakara..
As mentioned, as yuri fangirl looking for subtext, how could I not vote them, ever?

Finally, Kaori. While everyone says "Look, gawd, she's cruel", "Poor Shiori", I say it's poor Kaori as well. She didn't choose a way that'd be considered right to deal with the fact that her sister's going to die soon. And it's exactly that what makes me love her so. It's so human. As was Sayuri's backstory with Kazuya, by the way. :3

Yuuichi - Finally a male lead worth his salt. For once I'm not left wondering why the guy's so popular with the ladies.

Shiori - Because I'm a sucker for 'masu' moe, and watching her hold back her tears all that time was heartbreaking. I cried when she finally let it all out.

Makoto - The only person who could butt heads with Yuuichi and almost win. Instead of Yuuichi developing her, like he did with all the other girls, she caused him to develop, and that's quite significant. Also the only character whose arch I cried during twice - Mai's doesn't count, as one of those times was for Sayuri's story about her brother. I think Makoto's arch was easily the best directed one.

Shiori - easily my favorite Kanon girl. I have always had a soft spot for the "nice girl who has serious health problems" type. I liked her personality, and her catch phrase was an instant win as well The scene with her crying in Yuuichi's arms in the last ep sealed the deal - she has been smiling all the time, not to trouble any one around her, and this scene where she lets out all those bottled up emotions was a powerful one indeed. "She already knows the strength it takes to smile until the end" indeed.

Her arc was also the one that managed to extract the most emotions from me. Plus, she is the voice of KyoAni that explains miracles to us, and she gets a remix of the OP song (And ungodly level of animation for her arc )

Nayuki - what to say... hats off in front of this girl. She has nothing but my utmost respect. By the end you just want to embrace her and let her cry on your shoulder - she finally needs some love. I have every reason there is to sympathize with the poor girl.

Sayuri - ~Ahaha indeed. For some reason i loved that dry sounding laughter of hers. And the reason behind it, as well as her story, is the second most touching one for me. *looks at results* - wow, Sayuri leading the poll

1) shiori ~ it was love at first sight...i remember when she fell down and immediatly i thought..."i have my girl!" and sure enough it stook out to the end she had a pretty tragic story as well even if it doesnt seem so at first...her type of personality makes her keep all the bad feelings inside which to the audience doesnt seem much...but the crying scene says it all...in fact she doesnt want to die but at the same time doesnt want to show her unhappiness...poor girl *hugs*

2) nayuki ~ up til near the end i didnt have much in for nayuki...but knowing about that past really nailed it in for me...she also the type that puts a mask on to hide her inner feelings *hugs again*

3) akiko ~ now who doesnt love the milf? but seriously speaking she is a great mother...caring and kind but also quite intellegant ~ the car shock was too much for my heart...*hugs*

4) akiko's jam ~ i was blackmailed my akiko

5) yuuichi ~ this guy is a legend...sure he had a dodgy past but his present is what matters...realizing his wrongs he admits to them (unlike a lot of male leads...) ~ strong hearted and caring (but only if he was a bit more to nayuki >.<) ~ funny guy but can also be serious...truly a master of personalities

Now:
Mai - sorry, not a lot of rationale here but my heart stops when she's onscreen. Eats like a warrior, doesn't waste energy on unnecessary words, just beautiful to watch in motion.
Shiori - this is a shocker for me.... I really don't tend to care for this type of character but she's just got such charming moments and the mix of humor in the face of tragedy apparently lassoed my moe-meter.
Nayuki - I've always been tragically fond of Nayuki (it must be that big red target crosshair painted on her forehead) but though they could have done better... they could have left her out entirely.
Yuuichi - one of the "least annoying" male drama leads I've come across in many moons (Kouhei in Tsukuyomi is fairly close... the male lead in REC perhaps?). Yuuichi is portrayed as witty and smart.. but emotional wreckage after the shields get ripped off.

Of course, allowing for my age... one could do far worse than the bodisvhatta goddess Akiko. Honestly, I could click all the marks because this is an ensemble kind of show where if you don't like most of the characters, the show simply won't work properly.

In the first poll, I chose (quote): Unfortunately, this story is full of complementary and interlocking characters so its difficult for me to narrow down:
Yuuichi, Ayu, Nayuki -- they're the core, if I don't like them, I'm not sure how its possible to like the story.
Akiko -- always seems to be forgotten in the polls but she has some of the BEST lines in the story and the mystery of why she always seems to know but never speaks up... and that jam hobby of hers...
Mai -- because she's Mai, dammit (guilty happiness when she's onscreen).

Of course, allowing for my age... one could do far worse than the bodisvhatta goddess Akiko.[/I]

Age, nothin'. She's where it's at, even for the whippersnappers.

The only reason she's not on my list is because her character didn't really get any exploration in the series. I still think she's one of the best charcters, but she's one that just wasn't presented as the others were.

Shiori possessed my favorite personality out of all the girls. It was heartwarming to see her smile all the time despite her knowing she was going to die soon. This shows she's got a strong inner character; she isn't living in denial or letting acceptance taint her actions. Plus she's the only one who can counter Yuuichi himself with a bit of wit and craftiness. Her breakdown in the last episode was wonderfully done as well.

I also found Jun to be quite an important supporting character. This guy's proven himself to be incredibly dependable and caring, yet he's still shafted in the end even worse than Nayuki. Poor guy deserves at least Kaori, I always say.

Akiko's Jam for being the most mysterious character in the show. I'm even more curious about the Jam than I am about how foxes can turn into humans, how Mai's power works, or how Ayu can astroproject herself.

Akiko's Jam for being the most mysterious character in the show. I'm even more curious about the Jam than I am about how foxes can turn into humans, how Mai's power works, or how Ayu can astroproject herself.

Maybe all those things never happened, and everything that happened in Kanon were hallucinations of Yuuichi due to exposure to Akiko's jam 7 years ago ?

Maybe all those things never happened, and everything that happened in Kanon were hallucinations of Yuuichi due to exposure to Akiko's jam 7 years ago ?

well if youve seen that pic in the image thread they you do know that akiko has been feeding yuuichi her jam ever since he last came around 7 years ago probably cause his memory to desintergrate into nothingness and for the fantasy mode to kick in ~

Edit: Okay i'm off work so i can actually contribute to WHY I voted this way.

Yuuichi for obvious reasons. He's the best male lead I've ever seen in a show that even remotely resembles this. Hands down, end of story. I don't think I'll see another lead like this again for probably another decade.

Ayu, she's just been my favorite girl since I first heard of the game. What can I say? I'm also partial to her Uguuuu's.

Mai, Very cute with glasses, very cute with a dress, sexy with a sword at her side, her mannerisms and everything make her all the more mysterious which I love. What's not to like about her?

Sayuri, the girlfriend I could never have. Very loyal to her friends, always trying to help out in her own way, and very proper. Plus how she was with Yuuichi and Mai at the last episode was just soooooooooo cute!

Shiori, I wasn't a fan of in the original series, but they really fleshed her out in this version. She quickly became someone, I wouldn't have minded if Yuuichi had ended up with. (I was very thankful she lived too!)

Was never a big fan of Nayuki. She was better in this series, but still not a favorite for me.

Previously I had Yuuichi, Ayu, Shiori and Sayuri. Now I have all those, but I've added Mai and Kaori.

Mai I added because, now (thanks to this adaptation) that we've been shown her background, I have a far better understanding of her character and appreciation of her storyline. And her wearing those glasses in the final episode was so moe I'm gonna die!

Kaori I added because I thought she was outstanding during the Shiori arc. They really did an outstanding job of painting the emotional state of her character, and I couldn't help but really sympathize with the way she struggled with the whole situation. I only wish they'd focused a little more on the conflict between the two sisters in this arc, since I thought it was resolved a little too neatly. And she also wins for best hairstyle in the series.